One month before the civil war, president Lincoln delivered his first inaugural address. He cited the constitution 34 times and hoped that his eloquence would quell the oncoming tragedy…

Unfortunately, we are dealing with the same, and many other, issues that divide us 159 years later.

Our workshop, Guiding Division, will start where Lincoln ended his first inaugural speech, with a hope and aspiration for unity and peace:

“We are not enemies, but friends. We must not be enemies. Though passion may have strained it must not break our bonds of affection. The mystic chords of memory, stretching from every battlefield and patriot grave to every living heart and hearthstone all over this broad land, will yet swell the chorus of the Union, when again touched, as surely they will be, by the better angels of our nature.”

With this in mind, CDR is offering a workshop to provide a foundation for our community’s – and our nation’s – journey back to civility.    

The workshop will take place on 5 consecutive Mondays, from 3pm-5pm (Pacific).  The workshop dates are 5/3, 5/10, 5/17, 5/24, and 5/31. 

Here’s a brief outline of the main topics:

Day 1-3:

• Psychology and physiology of conflict;
• Cognitive bias and its impact on reasoning and argument;
• Information dissemination by the media; 
• Maintaining self-care during conflict;

Day 3-5:

• Communication skill-building and practice;
• Engaging with political and historical narrative;
• How we move forward;

This workshop provides presentation, discussion, and assigned activities, along with supplemental reading and other resources to be used before, during, and after the sessions.